USGENWEB ARCHIVES VIRGINIA
THE CITY OF NORFOLK
LANGLEY FAMILY BURIAL GROUND
at Forest Lawn Cemetery
8100 Granby Street, Norfolk, VA 23505
Hours: Everyday from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(757) 441-1752
A Family Burial Ground’s Past and Future
by Beth Uiterwyk
When the City of Norfolk purchased a tract of Norfolk County property from George S. Bunting on 15 February 1906 to develop and utilize as a new city cemetery, it bought more than just farmland. Within the boundaries of the newly purchased tract lay a Langley family burial ground surrounded by a hedge and dotted with ornamental trees and shrubs. The gravestones in this private cemetery dated back to 1796.
Members of the Langley family had owned large tracts of property along Mason’s Creek since the late 1700’s. Jonathan Langley was in possession of the land that was later to become Forest Lawn Cemetery when he died intestate in 1825. The property passed in parcenary (joint heirship) to his heirs-at-law, Charles Langley, Elizabeth Margaret Langley and Louisa Ann Langley, children of Jonathan’s deceased brother, William Langley.
Charles outlived his Uncle Jonathan by less than a year, dying in December 1825. His will, recorded in Norfolk County on 16 January 1826, directed that his portion of the undivided Mason’s Creek property that had been "heired" to him by the death of his uncle Jonathan Langley was to remain in the hands of his widow Agnes "during her natural life."
Agnes J. Wilkins Langley married twice after Charles’ death. Her second husband, Solomon Cason, died in 1834. Her third husband, the Rev. Robert Peed, Jr., outlived her. In 1839, during her marriage to Robert Peed, Agnes relinquished her dower right in 1/3 of the undivided 433 acres of Mason’s Creek property that she had held since Charles Langley’s death in December 1825, thus leaving Charles’ surviving siblings, Louisa Anne Langley and Elizabeth Margaret Langley, wife of Carius Nimmo, in full ownership of the property. Agnes’ relinquishment of dower was made with the intention of purchasing a portion of the Mason’s Creek property.
A division of the Mason’s Creek property, based on acreage and improvement valuation, was subsequently made. Louisa Ann Langley received 278 acres. Elizabeth Langley Nimmo received 155 acres, and with her husband Carius Nimmo, sold that moiety to Rev. Robert Peed, Jr., husband of Agnes, on 13 July 1839. Agnes Wilkins Langley Cason Peed died 20 January 1852.
By 1860, Robert Peed, Jr. had remarried. At his death in June 1866, his widow Anna inherited the property on Mason’s Creek. Anna Peed sold the property to George S. Bunting on 6 January 1879. And, as was stated in the first paragraph, Bunting sold the property to the City of Norfolk in 1906.
The Langley family burial ground is not specifically mentioned in the wills and deeds by which it was passed from family member to family member and, finally, to the City of Norfolk. However, its continued existence within the boundaries of Forest Lawn Cemetery is evidenced by its discussion by Rogers Dey Whichard, well known Norfolk, Virginia historian and author, in his 1959 publication The History of Lower Tidewater Virginia. Whichard had transcribed the inscriptions on the old slab stones and headstones during a c. 1930 visit to Forest Lawn Cemetery, when he came upon "the interesting old Langley burial plot on Mason’s Creek". By 1955, the historian described the site as "formerly well tended, surrounded by a hedge and containing ornamental trees and shrubs. In recent years hedge and trees have disappeared, and the stones, considerably the worse for wear, are laid level, flat on the ground."
Today, the integrity of the Langley family burial ground and the survival of the eleven extant stones within the old site are threatened. The grass, though neatly cut in the isolated circle in which the old graves lie, has been allowed to invade upon and creep across the slab stones and the flat laid headstones. Decades of grounds maintenance by tractors rolling over the old stones has taken an irreparable toll. Without immediate intervention, this small, but significant, piece of old Norfolk County, Virginia family history will be lost forever.
Location of Langley burial ground within Forest Lawn Cemetery
The ten known graves in the Langley family burial ground belong to people related by blood or by marriage. The pivotal individuals in this web of family ties are William Langley and Agnes J. Wilkins, his daughter-in-law. There is no extant stone within the old burial ground for William, who died at his Norfolk County residence on 14 February 1825. To date, his burial site is unknown. Agnes, who died on 20 January 1852, was buried here; her burial being the last known interment in the family burial ground.
Langley Family Burial Ground Interments
Extant Grave Stones, 2010
The legibility of the inscriptions on these stones has been impaired by the natural ravages of time and the indifference of caretakers. In an attempt to accurately transcribe the old inscriptions, it has, in some instances, been necessary to consult additional sources. The test for a preponderance of evidence has, then, been applied in an effort to present the most accurate transcription.
Sources consulted:
1) "Langley Family Bible record, 1754 - 1829", Accession no. 29313, Archives & Manuscripts, Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA.
2) Whichard, Rogers Dey, Ph.D.The History of Lower Tidewater Virginia. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1959. Volume I, pp. 317-318.
Charles Denby, brother of Elizabeth Denby Langley, first wife of William Langley.
The inscription on this stone had worn away by 1990. The scratched in "JR" that is legible in the photograph is the result of vandalism. Based solely upon Whichard’s transcription extracts, this is the headstone of Charles Denby who died in 1796 at the age of 12 years.
Louisa Langley, daughter of William & Elizabeth Denby Langley.
SACRED
To the Memory of
(Louisa) LANGLEY
Daughter of
William Langley
and Elizabeth
his wife
(who departed) this life
(20 November ????)
The Langley Family Bible record notes:
Louisa Langley, the daughter of William & Elizabeth his wife, was born March 9th 1802.
Louisa Langley, the daughter of William & Elizabeth his wife, departed this life November 20th 1802.Inscription abstract by Rogers Dey Whichard notes:
Louisa Langley, daughter of William & Elizabeth Langley, died 20 November 1803, aged 8 months
Elizabeth Denby Langley, first wife of William Langley.
In Memory
To the [-----------]
Elizabeth [----------]
wife of
William Langley
Who departed this (life)
May the 17 th 180(3)
Aged 22 YearsThe Langley Family Bible record and Whichard’s inscription abstract both note the year 1803 as the death year.
Elizabeth Margaret Langley, daughter of Charles & Agnes Wilkins Langley. |
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SACRED
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George Thelaball Langley, son of Charles & Agnes Wilkins Langley. |
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SACRED
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Charles Langley, son of William Langley, and the first husband of Agnes J. Wilkins. |
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SACRED So therefore friends lament not
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Harrison A. Cason, stepson of Agnes Wilkins [Langley] Cason. |
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SACRED
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Solomon Cason, second husband of Agnes J. Wilkins. |
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SACRED Blessed are the (dead who die) in |
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Elizabeth S. Langley Herbert, niece of William Langley. |
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Agnes was in her 54th year, but not yet 54 years old. She would not have turned 54 until 7 May 1852, three and a half months after her death. |
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